Japan is on edge this week as July 5, 2025, approaches—a date tied to a long-standing manga prophecy predicting a major natural disaster. The forecast comes from Watashi ga Mita Mirai (The Future I Saw), a manga created by the elusive artist Ryo Tatsuki.
In the latest development on Thursday, Japanese authorities urged the 89 residents of a small southern island to evacuate after a strong earthquake, the latest of more than 1,000 recent jolts to hit the area.
Residents were urged to evacuate to "a school playground in Akuseki Island", a municipal official told AFP. Akuseki is part of the Tokara island chain south of Kyushu region, which has been rattled by 1,031 quakes since June 21. No major damage has been reported.
ALSO READ: Mass destruction for Japan? Tourists cancel plans after a psychic’s ‘real catastrophe’ warning
On Thursday, a 5.5 magnitude quake struck near Akuseki. The previous day a jolt of the same size was also recorded. Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total.
There was no tsunami risk from Thursday's quake, according to Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division of the Japan Meteorological Agency.
A doomsday prediction
Published in 1999, the manga faded into obscurity—until the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake. After that tragedy, readers spotted the chilling words “Major disaster in March 2011” scrawled on its cover. That detail turned Tatsuki into a cult figure overnight. Now, her updated edition warns of another calamity—this time, bigger.
That detail turned Tatsuki into a cult figure overnight. Now, her updated edition warns of another calamity—this time, bigger.
ALSO READ: New Baba Vanga's devastating prediction only days away now; Here's what she claims will happen
In her 2021 update, Tatsuki describes a terrifying chain of events. She writes of the ocean floor between Japan and the Philippines cracking open. Massive waves would surge “in all directions.” A tsunami “three times higher” than the 2011 disaster could hit Japan’s southwest coast.
Her prophecy has spread far and wide. Cafes, bars and social feeds buzz with talk of her visions. Some fear history will repeat itself.
The prophecy has unsettled tourists across East Asia. They have held off coming to Japan due to unfounded fears fanned by social media that a major quake is imminent.
Although, Seismologists have consistently stated that pinpointing the exact timing of an earthquake remains nearly impossible.
Japan sitting on 'Ring of Fire'
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.
In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82 percent.
The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a "megaquake" and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damages of up to $2 trillion.
This week, the government released a report saying much more needed to be done to prepare for such a megaquake.
(With agency inputs)
In the latest development on Thursday, Japanese authorities urged the 89 residents of a small southern island to evacuate after a strong earthquake, the latest of more than 1,000 recent jolts to hit the area.
Residents were urged to evacuate to "a school playground in Akuseki Island", a municipal official told AFP. Akuseki is part of the Tokara island chain south of Kyushu region, which has been rattled by 1,031 quakes since June 21. No major damage has been reported.
ALSO READ: Mass destruction for Japan? Tourists cancel plans after a psychic’s ‘real catastrophe’ warning
On Thursday, a 5.5 magnitude quake struck near Akuseki. The previous day a jolt of the same size was also recorded. Seven of the 12 remote Tokara Islands are inhabited, with around 700 residents in total.
There was no tsunami risk from Thursday's quake, according to Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division of the Japan Meteorological Agency.
A doomsday prediction
Published in 1999, the manga faded into obscurity—until the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake. After that tragedy, readers spotted the chilling words “Major disaster in March 2011” scrawled on its cover. That detail turned Tatsuki into a cult figure overnight. Now, her updated edition warns of another calamity—this time, bigger.
That detail turned Tatsuki into a cult figure overnight. Now, her updated edition warns of another calamity—this time, bigger.
ALSO READ: New Baba Vanga's devastating prediction only days away now; Here's what she claims will happen
In her 2021 update, Tatsuki describes a terrifying chain of events. She writes of the ocean floor between Japan and the Philippines cracking open. Massive waves would surge “in all directions.” A tsunami “three times higher” than the 2011 disaster could hit Japan’s southwest coast.
Her prophecy has spread far and wide. Cafes, bars and social feeds buzz with talk of her visions. Some fear history will repeat itself.
The prophecy has unsettled tourists across East Asia. They have held off coming to Japan due to unfounded fears fanned by social media that a major quake is imminent.
Although, Seismologists have consistently stated that pinpointing the exact timing of an earthquake remains nearly impossible.
Japan sitting on 'Ring of Fire'
Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire".
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes.
In 2011, a magnitude-9.0 quake triggered a tsunami that left 18,500 people dead or missing and caused a devastating meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82 percent.
The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a "megaquake" and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damages of up to $2 trillion.
This week, the government released a report saying much more needed to be done to prepare for such a megaquake.
(With agency inputs)
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